What Exactly is Islam? II/IV [Archives:2000/51/Focus]

COMMON SENSE
By: Hassan Al-Haifi
While the overriding element in Islam centers around the faith in the absolute monotheism of the Divine (see the previous Common Sense article), it goes without saying that among the Five Pillars of Islam (The Five pillars of Islam are: the attestation that There is no God but Allah, and Mohammed is the Prophet of Allah; the Five Daily Prayers; Fasting the Month of Ramadan, the Zakat, or religious duty tax; and the Pilgrimage to Mecca), four represent the ritualistic rites that are regarded as the compulsory proscribed rites, that fulfill the faithfuls full allegiance to Allah and the submission of the believer to His will and ordinances. We have discussed the First Pillar in detail in the last article and we continue now with the discussion of the Second Pillar: the Five Daily Prayers in detail also because of the compulsory nature of the rite and because of the continuous opportunity it provides for the believer to remain in direct contact with the Lord Al-Mighty.
The Five Daily Prayers are the most ritualistic physical as well as spiritual rite that fully demonstrate the true faith of the believer and which must be adhered to without fail. Even where the lack of full soundness of health and physical ability could prevent the worshipper from conducting the prayers in a normal manner, the worshipper is still compelled to find some means of symbolically carrying out the prayers, even if it entails just the movement of the eyes, if all other parts of the body are unable to carry out any movements. The Five Daily Prayers are set for certain times of the day as follows: 1) the Dawn Prayer, which is to be carried out within the time period between Dawn and sunrise (two full prostrations); 2) the Noon Prayer, which is to be carried out between Noon and Mid-Afternoon (four full prostrations); the Afternoon Prayer, which is to be carried out between the Mid-Afternoon and Sunset (four full prostrations); 4) The Sunset Prayer, which is between sunset and the break of darkness (three full prostrations); and the Evening Prayer, which is to be carried out between the break of darkness to Midnight (four full prostrations). As far as timing is concerned, the earlier the better. It is also preferable to conduct them communally with other worshippers and even more so if they were carried out in the mosques. An important pre-condition to carrying out these prayers is that the worshipper must carry out the ablution after having become purified from all impurities (excretory waste, blood, etc.), which entails the washing of the mouth, face and limbs the hands to the elbows and the feet to slightly above the heel. In the event water may be harmful to the worshipper, then the worshipper should use sifted clean clay, by patting the clay with the palms and gently having the palms go over the face and the arms to the elbows leaving as much of the clay as reasonably can be left accordingly. In addition the worshipper must be dressed in purified clothing and for the males the clothing must cover all promiscuous parts as a minimum, for the male it is from the navel down to the knees and for the female, all parts of the body except the face.
Each prayer consists of a defined set of full prostrations, which involve a proscribed number of physical body positions, with the worshipper facing towards the Holy City of Mecca throughout the prayer. The prayer enters the prayer by declaring God is Supreme (Allahu Akbar). This is also uttered every time there is a change of position except for one change, and the closing of the prayer, as will be seen later. The believer remains in a standing position, almost at attention (some Moslem sects insist on having the hands overlap across the chest, while most of the Shiites and the followers of Malik Ibn Anas put the hands at the sides). While in this standing position the worshipper is expected to recite the Opening Surah of the Quran and at least three verses of another Surah of the Quran throughout the prayer. However, in keeping with the practice of the Prophet Mohammed (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him), most Moslems recite the Opening Surah of the Quran and a minimum of three verses of other surahs of the Quran in the first two full prostrations, while in the standing position and just the Opening Surah in each of the prostrations beyond the first two full prostrations. Then the worshipper utters Allahu Akbar and bows on a right angle position with the face looking down on the ground, through which the worshipper utters silently Glory to Allah the Supreme three times and then rises to the standing position, uttering God listens to whoever praises Him, or if he is praying singly, or as the Imam of a congregation of worshippers praying together, Our Lord, to You is All Praise if praying behind an Imam. After that, the worshipper prostrates to the ground, uttering the change of position Allahu Akbar, while in the prostrating position the worshipper silently utters Glory to Allah the Greatest three times. In this prostrating position the believer touches the ground with both palms elbows slightly raised, the nose and both knees and the bottom of the toes bent outward. The worshipper then rises, while stating Allahu Akbar, to a sitting position on the lower portion of the leg, bent at the knees, with the body resting on the feet, one of which is at right angle to the ground and the toes are bent outward and the other foot is laid down sideways. This may seem somewhat taxing to the beginning Moslem or to one with rheumatism, but over time, one becomes accustomed to it. Then the worshipper repeats the prostrating position and the utterance of Glory to Allah the Greatest three times. Then the believer rises to the standing position or to a sitting position, as the case may be, if he has completed two full prostrations. If the prayer is the Dawn Prayer (2 full prostrations), then the worshipper rises to a sitting position after the second full prostration and recites the declaration of faith, I testify that there is no God but Allah, and Mohammed is the Prophet of Allah and then prays for the Prophet Mohammed and his clan and then faces to his right stating the greeting Alsalmu alaikum and then to his left likewise. If he still has to complete the number of prostrations required for the prayer, he rises after the declaration of faith to complete the rest of the prostrations and at the end of the final prostration states takes the sitting position and terminates the prayer as in the dawn prayer.
Of course, to the ill-informed, this may seem to be a time consuming endeavor and compelling to the hasty individual, but the compulsory nature of this ritual cannot be overemphasized and to the believer, surely it is easy to note the gratification that is felt at the end of every prayer. In addition the prayers represent daily and regular communications with the Lord Al-Mighty, for which there can be no other means that can provide such almost continuos contact with His Grace. Of course, this is justified by the mere fact that one is devoting scant moments of his daily life, in gratitude to the Provider of such a life and all the bounties that mankind has been endowed with to make that life meaningful and pleasant. It is an essential rite, which provides the worshipper daily rapport with the Al-Might and keeps the worshipper spiritually awake at all times. It is nothing when considering all that Allah has done for us and as means of securing protection and immunity from the wrath of the Al-Mighty, in this life and in the hereafter. Furthermore, in view of the greater benefits of conducting these prayers in communion with other worshippers, it encourages greater social integration and communal activity among the faithful as well as helping to solidify their brotherhood and their social equality, notwithstanding their standing in the community. It is not for the Lord that the worshipper, carries out these prayers, for the Lord Al-Mighty is not in need of anything, nor does it add anything to his Omnip. It is a blessing for man that the Lord prescribed these prayers to keep the lines of communications between the faithful and the Divine open continuously and to remind the worshipper that only through the devotion of the worshipper of his life and all his means to the cause of Allah there can be no greater gratification, whether in the rewards of life and all its amenities, or in the eternal bliss of Paradise. May we be successful in being showered with his mercy and blessings and may He guide us to the path that leads us to being among his truly faithful believers. After all what are we living for?

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